Sweet Musings with a Bitterly Sharp Wit

Mmmaple

Though endlessly tempted by the idea of lining up a “12 days of cookies” series of posts, it just never seems to work out. Six days into December and only now do I remember those grand plans, dreamed up in warm August, so far away from the holiday action. How time flies, and how impossibly busy this season always turns out to be. Regardless, I’ve always been an advocate of quality over quantity, so I’ll save the indecision and uncertainty over questionable cookies, and just present you with one fail-safe, fool-proof winner of a baked good. Who needs the extra 11 recipes if they’ll never get made, anyway?

Both simple in concept and complex in flavor, these sweet little gems will satisfy the sweet tooth of anyone on your list. Rich maple flavor carries these surprisingly soft cookies, accented by the subtle warmth of ginger. Tame enough for the kids to appreciate but still plenty sophisticated for all types of palates, I instantly regretted preparing only a half batch the first time around- They flew faster than I could press two together into a sandwich!

The funny thing is, I thought these were absolute goners as they went into the oven. Impossibly soft, sticky dough molded into delicate little shapes? There was no chance they would stand up to the heat of the oven… And yet, out they came, as perfectly shaped as before. Just treat them with a gentle hand and keep the dough as cold as possible, and you shouldn’t end up with any amorphous cookie blobs, either.

In your stand mixer, cream together the margarine, “cream cheese,” maple sugar and brown sugar, until softened and smooth. Add in the maple syrup, extract, and salt, and beat on a low speed until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula before proceeding, to make sure that everything is being incorporated.

In a separate bowl, sift together the ginger, flour, and starch, before adding the mixture slowly into the bowl of the stand mixer. Slowly mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until you achieve a smooth, cohesive dough. Scrape it out and cover with plastic wrap and chill the dough thoroughly until firm; at least 2 hours.

Ounce chilled, preheat your oven to 325 degrees, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats.

Cut your dough in half, and on a lightly floured surface, roll one half out to about 1/8 inch in thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes of any sort, but try to keep them on the smaller side. My maple leaves were just about an inch wide. Use a thin metal spatula to remove the cut shapes and transfer them to your prepared baking sheets, to prevent tearing or mushing. Be gentle, because it is a very soft dough. If you have trouble removing them from the counter, place a frozen metal cookie sheet over the whole length of dough, and allow the dough to cool down and become firmer before trying to move the cookies again.

Place your sheet of cut but unbaked cookies in the freezer for just 15 minutes before sliding it into the oven, to make sure they all hold their shape. Bake for 10 – 15 minutes, until the edges are just barely golden. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for about 15 minutes before transferring them to wire racks. Repeat with the remaining half of dough, and re-roll scraps and repeat once more.

For the filling, once the cookies are completely cool, begin by beating the margarine in your stand mixer to soften. Add in the first 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar, along with the spices, vanilla, and maple syrup. Mix on low speed until the sugar is mostly incorporated, and then turn it up to high, whipping the mixture for 3 – 5 minutes until light and fluffy. If it still seems too loose to you, add in the remaining cup of confectioner’s sugar, and whip on high again. Spread on cookies and sandwich two together.

Holy yum. Permission to make these gluten-free and post them on my blog? They look utterly amazing, and ginger and maple sounds fantastic together. I had never thought of that before!

Also, a 12 days of cookies sounds awesome ;) (hint, hint?). It doesn’t have to just be cookies though (candy, cakes, hint, hint?). I understand completely if you’re too busy however– I can totally identify with ya!

Hannah, you just TOTALLY made my day with this recipe! I adore the maple leaf sandwich cookies from Trader Joe’s, and have been searching for a homemade version for a while now. These cookies sound fantastic, and – as always – your photos have left my mouth watering :). I can’t wait to make these!!

Clearly you just have to bake the 12 cookies IN August and schedule them months in advance. ;)

Oh, I love maple syrup so dearly! I’ve yet to see maple sugar and maple extract here in Australia, though. So if I manage to stop being lazy and make these, mine will probably have less of a strong maple flavour.

Hooray for these adorable cookies! Just a couple of days ago I saw a box of maple cookies at Trader Joe’s and said, “maybe I can do that….” Now I don’t have to struggle with creating a recipe! Thank you :)

I’ll have you know that maple is my most favourite thing in the world, and that’s not just because I’m Canadian–I do believe there’s something in my bloodstream that predisposes me to seek out maple fragrances (as yet not found) so that I can smell like maple all the time. As maple sandwich cookies just so happen to be vegan most of the time, I’ve never had to abstain from this kind of cookie-eating, but the fact that I can make them myself now and not freak about the sometimes odd-sounding ingredients of the store-bought ones makes me GIDDY. So thank you :-) You are awesome.

Seriously they kept their shape beautifully! What a holiday miracle 8). I can relate to plans that are forgotten in the hustle and bustle of other life concerns. The same happened to me with Halloween.

Om nom nom those look lovely! I have become pretty close friends with a couple of vegan girls lately and since it is the holidays I need to polish my vegan baked good skills, and you dear are my secret weapon! Cannot wait to try this recipe.
Ooh, I also posted a felt mushroom tutorial over on my blog that I thought you would get a kick out of. Happy holidays!